Natural Disasters/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Moby is sitting on a sofa, watching a weather report on television. Tim walks in carrying a picnic cooler and a blanket. TIM: Hey, you ready? MOBY: Beep. TIM: The sky is totally clear. Look outside. Moby shakes his head and points at the television screen. A weather forecaster is giving a Weather Watch, and a ticker announces a storm warning. TIM: All right, but you were the one who was all into the idea of getting buried in the sand. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, what are natural disasters and how do they happen? From, Maritza. Well, that's a good question. Moby's claiming that a hurricane will ruin our beach day, but… MOBY: Beep. Moby frowns at Tim. TIM: All right! Natural disasters happen for different reasons. Some are weather-related, like hurricanes. These tropical storms form over the ocean, picking up speed and strength as they move over the water An animation shows a hurricane forming over an ocean. TIM: If a hurricane hits land, its high winds and heavy rain can cause a lot of damage. An animation shows a hurricane hitting a neighborhood. It is raining heavily, and a fallen tree has crushed a car. TIM: Thunderstorms are a lot more common than hurricanes. An animation shows a thunderstorm, with lightning. TIM: The thunder can't hurt you, but lightning is a powerful form of electrical energy that you want to stay away from. The lights flicker. TIM: I think we're pretty safe from lightning in the house. Tim looks at Moby, who is hiding behind the sofa, covering his head with his hands. TIM: Tornadoes are the most violent storms that nature sends our way. With rotating funnel-shaped clouds and winds reaching 300 miles per hour, tornadoes can do a lot of damage to large areas. An animation shows a tornado in a rural area. Moby runs into the basement. TIM: Winter storms bring snow, freezing rain, sleet, and temperatures that make you want to run indoors. An animation shows a winter snowstorm. TIM: They can cause icy conditions on roads, fallen power lines, and extreme cold. Images illustrate Tim's description of the effects of winter storms. MOBY: Beep. Moby returns from the basement, wearing a winter hat and a scarf around his neck. TIM: Right. Floods happen when land is covered in more water than it can absorb. An image shows flooding. TIM: Lots of things can bring about floods, including heavy rain, overflowing rivers, and even melting snow! Images show the causes of floods that Tim describes. TIM: A flood can mean a few inches of water in the basement or an entire house washed over. An image and animation show the types of flooding Tim mentions. TIM: It's sort of the opposite of a drought, when there's not enough water. Droughts are slower to develop, but the lack of water can devastate entire ecosystems. An animation shows an expanse of dry, cracked land. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It is scary to think about. Sometimes these disasters can be predicted, giving people enough time to relocate. But there are also times when these things catch us off guard, or are more powerful than people expect. An animation shows a flooded area. A man sits on his roof, and a trashcan floats by with a cat atop it. TIM: Earthquakes are especially unpredictable. They happen along plate boundaries in the earth's crust. A map of the world shows dotted lines indicating the boundaries of Earth's tectonic plates. TIM: When plates shift, the earth shakes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, earthquakes vary in intensity, so you can't always feel them. Depending on how strong an earthquake is, it can cause a lot of damage or very little. Side-by-side animations show an earthquake at a tectonic plate boundary and dishes shaking in a kitchen cupboard. TIM: When an earthquake occurs underwater, it can trigger a tsunami. These massive waves can travel as fast as 500 miles an hour. When they hit land, they can bring a lot of destruction. An animation shows an earthquake under an ocean. A large wave forms and moves onto land, covering an entire town. TIM: Some tsunamis are caused by underwater volcanoes, eruptions of hot, molten rock from deep inside the earth. An animation shows a volcano erupting on an ocean floor. TIM: Volcanoes are linked to plate activity, too. When they erupt on land, their ash plumes and lava flows can do a lot of damage. An animation shows a cross-section of a volcano erupting on land. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, they can start wildfires, but those are more often caused by people, or lightning. Wildfires happen a lot in dry areas. An animation shows a car pulling away from a poorly extinguished campfire, which ignites. Fire spreads. TIM: They move fast and are difficult to put out, especially if it's windy. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Huh. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I get what you're saying. These are natural disasters, and it may seem a little like the earth is trying to kill us, but this is just the way the planet operates. Our planet has a lot of water on it, and it's constantly in motion, and that means droughts in one area and storms in another. An animation shows Earth rotating in space. TIM: Likewise, the earth is very active geologically, and pressure from moving tectonic plates has to be released somewhere. Of course, none of that makes natural disasters any less scary. But we are getting better all the time at predicting these events. And governments and humanitarian agencies do a lot to help out whenever disaster strikes. Images show the logos of the American Red Cross, the International Rescue Committee, and the World Health Organization. TIM: At home, the best thing you can do is to make a family plan so that everyone in your family knows how to reach one another and where to go in case of an emergency. And make sure you have a ready kit of basic supplies you'll need in an emergency. An image shows a flashlight, food, batteries, and medical supplies. TIM: Okay right now, I really want to go to the beach. MOBY: Beep. Moby points at the television. TIM: Well, you know, you can't always believe what the weather reports… TIM: But I, but I guess it's always good to listen! Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Science Transcripts